June 30, 2012

For little ones fascinated with porcupines, Kazaak! by Canadian illustrator and author Sean Cassidy will delight them with a lovely story of learning one's strengths while teaching them more about these prickly little fellows. In Kazaak!, they are little fellows: Russell and Spike. Russell, slightly larger and definitely more worldly, is sharing his expertise about quills with his little friend who is unsure how to work with them. You see, Spike's first quill-cleaning experience provides a pointed lesson to start the story.

Even while sensing Bear in the forest, Spike is full of questions and continues to take note of Russell's lessons, including how quills can be used for camouflage, for gathering food and for creating noise that deters predators. The best lesson is Russell's swinging and arcing demonstration of his quills kazaaking some ripe berries and a carrot, ready to eat.

Unfortunately, immediately after showing Spike how he can leave his quills behind when stuck to a tree, Russell is left vulnerable to Bear who moseys along looking for his lunch. But without his quills, Russell is unable to camouflage, make noises or kazaak Bear, except to tickle him. Luckily Spike has paid attention to Russell's lessons, and uses his new-found knowledge and a little trickery to appease Bear and rescue his friend. Most importantly, Spike recognizes that, "...quills are the best!"

Karate has "kiai" and tae kwon do has "kiap" but Sean Cassidy's porcupines have "kazaak" - noisy, emphatic and powerful. And learning about one's strengths is just as powerful, whether one is a prickly porcupine or a worried child. While Russell is willing to teach and demonstrate, it is only when Spike must rescue his vulnerable and ridiculed pal that the sweet evidence of that learning is demonstrated. While rural myths may play up the idea of porcupines throwing their quills, which they cannot do, Kazaak! correctly shows Russell and Spike only detaching their quills when brushing up against trees, or berries, or perceived enemies.

With deft hand, Sean Cassidy has created soft cushions of quills, still purposeful but honest, in captivating outdoor settings of green fields along forests of wildflowers, rocks and deciduous trees. Russell and Spike's charming forms, particularly their tubby bellies, in the rich acrylics of Sean Cassidy's detailed drawings, will delight young children into learning. And with summer here now and lots of children involved in outdoor activities while camping, at the cottage or at parks, Kazaak! is a perfect picture book to start off your child's summer reading.

June 28, 2012

Time for camp, family
vacations, baseball, swimming, visits to the beach, and reading,
reading, reading.

If reading is part of your summer plans, think about getting to your public library or perhaps another local participant in theTD Summer Reading Club, celebrating its 17th anniversary this year.

This program, an initiative of the Toronto Public Library, TD Bank Group and Library and Archives Canada, encourages young readers this year to IMAGINE and read about epic quests, mythical creatures and magic, all courtesy
of in-branch and online programs, offered in both English and French and in alternate formats, such as DAISY format through the CNIB.

Booklists based on theme and age
recommendations, activity booklets (preschool and school-age) for use
throughout the summer, and stickers with secret codes will surely be a
bonus to keep kids reading. There are games, crafts, contests, puppet
shows and more. And most public library branches offering the program
already have numerous special events set up for July and August, so you
can plan your family time around these activities.

Dušan Petričić, award-winning Canadian illustrator of popular picture books including Mattland (Hazel Hutchins, 2008), Bagels from Benny (Aubrey Davis, 2003), Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas (Cary Fagan, 2009), and When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew: Tales of Ti-Jean (Jan Andrews, 2011), was selected as this year's illustrator for the TD Summer Reading Club. All the artwork for the program, and the artwork displayed here, are courtesy of Dušan Petričić and the TD Summer Reading Club.The small version of Dušan Petričić's poster below does not do justice to the playful details of a summer of imagined fantasy.

Go to the TD Summer Reading Club website for more details or to one of the following public library sites (just a few across the country) for programs specific to your area:

June 27, 2012

This novel, winner of countless book awards including the Newbery Award, the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and the William Allen White Award, is a favourite novel used in the intermediate grades, usually Grades 7 or 8. Written at RL 5.9 (this means a child should be able to read this at the ninth month of Grade 5), The Giver is often considered science fiction, although we would most likely consider it dystopian now.

The themes of the book include the following:

authority/power

community

oppression/intolerance

responsibility

courage

The following youngCanLit focuses on dystopian societies and would serve beautifully as updated and alternative novels to The Giver. For each, I have looked at the key themes of The Giver in terms of the youngCanLit selection.

All Good Children

by Catherine Austen

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-55469-824-0

300 pp.

Ages 14+

2011

Authority/Power: Chemrose International, which implements the NEST program

Community: New Middleton, owned by Chemrose, is a gated community free of environmental disasters that trouble the shanty towns outside its gates

Authority/Power: Sweepers under the direction of Dr. Lessing and the doctors at Roosevelt Island

Community: the co-operative group of farmers, hunters, and scavengers that live in The Hell Gate

Oppression/Intolerance: S'ans(scarred survivors of the plague), the uninfected

Responsibility: to rescue friends captured by the Sweepers

Courage: to survive alone in Central Park, to evade the hazard squads of Sweepers, to accept the S'ans, to join The Hell Gate community, to trust Aidan

Blood Red Road

by Moira Young

Doubleday Canada

978-0-385-67183-5

459 pp.

Ages 14+

2011

Authority/Power: the King who rules through his police, the TonTon

Community: the palisaded and gated city of Hopetown, the Free Hawks in Darktrees, the former society of Wreckers

Oppression/Intolerance: slaves, people high on chaal, cage-fighters, Free Hawks

Responsibility: to keep a promise to find Lugh,
to keep family together, to protect Emmi

Courage: to search for Lugh, to leave the
isolation of Silverlake and venture to Hopetown, to endure the
cage-fighting, to return to save Jack from the fire, to shorten Epona's death, to go on to the Big Water in the West

Authority/Power: Father, leader of the Community, is the only one who can ask questions

Community: All members, except Father, are called Sisters and Brothers

Oppression/Intolerance: Those who ask questions are punished, with warnings, humiliation and ultimately less-than-favourable Life Roles

Responsibility: Katherine feels the need to determine what has happened to Serenity, her best friend's little sister; Katherine feels that she must help her younger brother to not ask questions to prevent him from disappearing too

Courage: Katherine is determined to see what is beyond the Community so that she might find out what happened to Serenity, even though she has been punished for her curiosity

Leave comments if you have any other suggestions for The Giver alternatives or to select an age-old novel that needs refreshing with #CanLitChoices.

June 26, 2012

If you go or went to school, elementary or secondary, in Canada in the past 25 years, peruse this
list and note those books you were asked to read as part of an English or
Language Arts class:

Only 4 of these 27 titles are Canadian. If you're reading this blog, you probably have or have had access to a school's novel sets. Whether you're a student who has been asked to read specific books, an educator who uses novels to teach, a parent who has had books assigned to your children to read, or a teacher-librarian who selects titles for use in the school, really look at the titles that are part of your school's novel set collection. How many are CanLit?

As it can be pricey to purchase 30 copies of a single title that is not held in a library's general collection, most school libraries have a typical roster of novels available and most of these are not Canadian. (As hard as it may be to believe, there are many teachers who still use
whole class sets of a single novel to teach.) And, although there are some teachers who, year after year, continue to use only those novels for which they already have lessons (and don't fool yourself that this group comprises of older teachers), many teachers have gone to literacy circles (i.e., setting up different small groups that will read different novels) which accommodate the diverse reading preferences and needs of their students. Keep in mind what Edmund Wilson said:

No two persons ever read the same book.

For those teachers and students who would like to promote the reading of great Canadian books in their classrooms, and school libraries who want to select the best, I'd like to suggest some great youngCanLit alternatives to the exhausted novels of bygone eras.

Look for #CanLitChoices in upcoming posts for suggestions on refreshing your novel set collections with the better alternatives i.e., youngCanLit.

June 25, 2012

Whoa. Catch your breath after reading Hunted by Cheryl
Rainfield because you'll have been holding it through the entire
read. Surprisingly and sadly, that which horrifies is analogous to our own reality, for some more than others.

It's not unusual for civilizations (and I use the word loosely here) to
organize groups within their society into factions, castes, or classes that
can be based on all manner of distinction, usually related to something one
group has and another has not, such as wealth, a particular race or
religion. In Caitlyn's world, the distinction is based on paranormal
activity, where being a Para is a derogatory term for those unlike the Normals.
Paranormals are considered dangerous and abnormal, and all of society
and government revolves around debilitating Paras, if not enslaving them to do the
government's bidding. There are ParaTroopers, Para-hunters, ParaWatch
groups, Government Paras (a.k.a. Para-slaves) manipulated by their
handlers using ParaControllers, Para-sympathizers, Para-lovers, Para-haters and
now there is a ParaReaper torturing and murdering Paras.

At 15, Caitlyn has already endured the murder of her father by Normals
during the riots; the kidnapping of her older brother, Daniel, when he was just
8 years old; her mother having deadened all her paranormal gifts so Caitlyn can
no longer mind-talk with her; and years of running from those determined to
hunt down every Para. It's not surprising that Caitlyn has learned to
protect herself, generally by pretending to be a Normal. She also listens with her mind to the
thoughts of others and to locate the energy frequencies of other Paras. She visualizes
shields of energy around herself and her mom. And she swims, which deadens the
voices and allows her to relax. She also blogs as Teen Para, in an effort
to educate others about Paras and debunk the propaganda levelled against
them.

But,
now in yet another new location, a town highly vigilant about capturing Paras,
Caitlyn is not expecting to have to protect herself from friendship, love and
her brother. Because they so rarely stay in one place very long,
Caitlyn's Mom has always advised her to remain detached. But, when she
first hears Alex's laugh, she is enthralled by the peace and goodness that
emanates from him, and Alex is just as attracted to her. Their budding
romance and her friendship with Rachel, a Para-supporter whose Para dad is
confined by the government, are making Caitlyn feel almost Normal and even
hopeful. But, the reappearance of her brother impels her to
want to help Daniel's group fight the oppression of Paras by honing her telepathy to
influence Normals. But, Daniel has grown into a hardened Government Para,
having endured much torture, and his idea of fighting for equality is actually
a revolution to oppress the Normals. And he is willing to do anything to get
his powerful sister on his side.

The
nature of all Caitlyn's relationships - with her mother, her brother, Alex,
Rachel, the motel owner, her telekinetic classmate Paul, the school librarian
Mrs. Vespa, her teachers, everyone - provides a solid basis for the plot of Hunted,
courtesy of Cheryl Rainfield's gift of voice for all her characters.
Even with the book's cover quoting Caitlyn who considers, You don't feel
much like living when you can't be yourself, Cheryl Rainfield always
provides her with a consistent and honest persona, though Caitlyn might not always see that in
herself. Caitlyn is never anything but a believable teen. Even as
she plays at being Normal, she is still herself, just the part of her that
isn't her paranormality, and this is what we see in her friendships and her
romance. Caitlyn sees the goodness and peace in Alex but she has the same
within her. She draws support and affection because she extends the same,
whether it be to a Para stopped by a ParaTrooper, the motel owner grieving her
loss, or enabling Paul to mind-talk with his mother and grandpa. These
interrelationships are often spontaneous and honest and provide the softness
needed to complement the brutality of Caitlyn's world.

Cheryl Rainfield's terrifying story of a world
persecuting those who are different (by virtue of their paranormal gifts) will
not only engage the reader emotionally, it will demand attention be paid. The
implausible concept of Hunted is hardly that of fantasy in our
world of conflict. The book merely depicts a world gone wrong in a singularly
grotesque manner, and Cheryl Rainfield
chose well to have Caitlyn Ellis be the hero of Hunted;
Caitlyn is the Para to make everyone come together. She of Hunted
parallels Rodney King's indomitable plea during the 1992 Los Angeles riots,
"Can we all get along?"

June 22, 2012

When fourteen-year-old Johanna Eisen answers an ad for orphanage workers,
she presents herself as Johanna Richter. With Jews in Hamburg being
accused of poisoning the water and spreading the plague (did I mention this
story takes place in the early 1700s?), and having much prejudice levied against
them, Johanna recognizes that she must keep her Jewish background hidden if she
is to get the job. Hired, Johanna agrees to care for the infants, always
adhering to the strict rule of not speaking to the children or providing any
comforts beyond the basics needed to survive.

Johanna and the other two caregivers, Cecile and Monica, are each assigned a
section with a number of babies aged one to three months old. As the
weeks pass, several of the babies die. Learning from Monica that the
orphanage is actually an experiment being run by Professor Gottfried Leibniz,
and overhearing the visiting Dr. Keller telling the Professor that his
experiment is denying the children their emotional needs, Johanna decides to
conduct her own experiment on Rebecca, one of the babies in her care. Disregarding her
instructions when away from prying eyes, Johanna cuddles, hugs, sings to, and kisses
Rebecca, helping the baby to thrive, while sadly other children die.
Taking a lesson from the story of Moses, Johanna decides to escape with Rebecca,
now nine months old, and travel to Amsterdam where Jews are treated more
fairly. But, a simple plan becomes an ordeal with Johanna enlisting the help of those who may harbour antisemitic views, confronting the dreaded plague, being assaulted by bandits, and ultimately revealing her true Jewish nature.

While I could not find any historical references to such experimentation, it
is evident that antisemitism was pervasive in 18th century Europe, just as
it is in The Baby Experiment, and this prejudice would have
dominated all of Johanna's experiences. Everything from her home to
travel, work, friends and purchases, was affected, perhaps banned, restricted
or impossible, due to the antisemitism of the time. Having Johanna endure
the masquerade of being non-Jewish (e.g., eating non-kosher food) and
deny her heritage, even with friends, demonstrates her fortitude and resolve to manage in that prejudicial society. Anne Dublin writes of Johanna's escape to Amsterdam
as a grave undertaking, though it reads like an adventure, rife with obstacles
and unexpected stumbling blocks, with the occasional advantage and luck tossed
in to mitigate the oppressive nature of the times. In The Baby Experiment, Anne Dublin has created a perfect story at
the reading level for the middle grades but with the maturity appreciated by
those readers slightly older, all in a historical setting brimming with
atmosphere. Young readers will appreciate Johanna's dangerous endeavour while The Baby Experiment spurs discussions of evolving social justice.

June 20, 2012

Having moved all the Canadian children's book award news to its own blog, CanLit for LittleCanadians: Awards at http://canlitforlittlecanadiansawards.blogspot.ca/, I really have no good excuse for posting the news here that the 2012 TD Canadian Children's Literature Awards' finalists have been announced (yesterday via the Canadian Children's Book Centre). I have justified this (at least in my own mind) by emphasizing that these awards are:

national;

dedicated to children's and YA books;

include both French and English and a variety of genres;

selected by diverse juries of academics, authors, school or public librarians, book sellers and/or literacy advocates;

generous with their cash prizes and recognition;

supported by the Canadian Children's Book Centre, our nationally-recognized authority on all things related to youngCanLit; and

announced at a gala whose invitations are always creative keepsakes.

So, I'm compelled to announce the finalists for the 2012 TD Canadian Children's Literature Awards here to ensure that the news reaches everyone (and I'll post a similar notice on my Awards blog as well.)

The seven major children's book awards which will be awarded at invitation-only galas in Toronto and Montreal in the fall include:

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For our fortunate young readers:

You know Adderson and Bell,Chan, Carter and Cumyn,and Davis through Draper,Ellis, Fagan and Fitch,then Gay, Gilmore, Ghent,lead in Hartry and Hutchins,with Jennings and Jocelyn,come Korman and Lawrence,Don't forget Matas and Narsimhan,or Ohi and Oppel,also Peacock and Pignat,with Radford and Reid.And what of Scrimger and Slade,Skrypuch and Slavin,with Tankard and Wallace,and Wilson times five?Indeed,so many great authorsand so many moreReach into their wordsImaginations will soar.